Man bailed after allegedly trafficking woman to Egypt

It followed a nine-month investigation by the force after reports a woman had been trafficked from Australia to Egypt in 2024. 

Mehelmi allegedly started the process of cancelling her visa before she went overseas to visit relatives. 

While she was away, he allegedly cancelled her return flight and accessed her online accounts to impersonate her and finish the visa cancellation process.

Before his arrest on Wednesday, police also searched Mehelmi's home and seized three mobile phones and a laptop. 

He has been charged with exit trafficking and pretending to be another person for the purpose of committing an offence. 

Detective Acting Superintendent Morag McGowan said exit trafficking was an often under-reported offence. 

''The sad reality is this does occur in modern Australia, which is why educating the public on the indicators is crucial," she said. 

She said potential signs someone was being exit trafficked included a person travelling without a passport in their possession, not having a return ticket or phone, or not being about to provide contact details on bookings. 

The maximum penalty if found guilty of the offence is 12 years in prison. 

Mehelmi faced court from prison on Thursday afternoon where he was granted bail on the condition he hand over his current Australian and expired Egyptian passports to police, and not go to any international airports. 

The 44-year-old will also be required to hand over the passwords for all of his electronic devices to police. 

The court heard he was granted bail because he had no criminal history, despite the seriousness of the alleged offences. 

"These charges are very complicated, they will take a long time to progress through the court," Judge Daniel Covington said. 

"If you can't comply with bail, you will stay in custody until the matter is finalised."

Mehelmi will return to court in December. 

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